This invention relates to an easy response system in a network configuration in which the Internet and a portable telephone network are interconnected and in particular to an easy response system which enables a portable telephone to easily make a voice response or perform reply operation through key input to electronic mail sent from a personal computer on an internetwork to the portable telephone.
In recent years, with support of a data communication function in a portable telephone network, the portable telephone itself has been advanced and portable telephones capable of transmitting and receiving electronic mail have appeared.
However, hitherto, such portable telephones, unlike personal computers, have involved limited input ways and thus have been mainly used for receiving electronic mail.
The portable telephones are mainly used only for reception and a reply function important as communication means, the essential purpose of electronic mail, is scarcely used.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an easy response system for enabling a reply of yes or no to be made with the touch of a key or a voice reply to be made to electronic mail received at a portable telephone.
According to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided an easy message response system comprising a gateway unit having a connection interface to the Internet and an interface to a portable telephone network for sending electronic mail from the Internet to a portable telephone in the portable telephone network and returning a reply from the portable telephone to a party transmitting the electronic mail, wherein the gateway unit comprises Internet communication means for transmitting and receiving electronic mail to and from a personal computer in the Internet, portable telephone filter means for converting the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone, received from the Internet communication means into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone and reply operation to the electronic mail to be performed on the portable telephone, reply mail preparation means for preparing reply mail to the personal computer in the Internet in response to a reply made through key input on the portable telephone, and portable telephone data communication means for transmitting the output result of the portable telephone filter means to the portable telephone and receiving an operation instruction given through key input on the portable telephone, and wherein the portable telephone comprises gateway communication means for receiving the output data from the portable telephone filter means in the gateway unit and informing the gateway unit of the operation corresponding to the key input on the portable telephone, portable telephone mail display means for displaying the output data received from the portable telephone filter means on a screen of the portable telephone, key input means for accepting the key input on the portable telephone, and operation description means for converting the key input through the key input means into the operation corresponding to information displayed by the portable telephone mail display means.
In the invention, the Internet communication means transmits and receives electronic mail to and from a personal computer on the Internet, the portable telephone filter means converts the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone, such as Internet standard HTML format or WML format defined in WAP for the portable telephone having a browsing function, and reply operation to the electronic mail to be performed on the portable telephone, the reply mail preparation means prepares a simple reply document indicating yes, no, etc., to the personal computer in the Internet in response to pressing a keypad on the portable telephone, the portable telephone data communication means transmits data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone and receives an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the gateway communication means receives the data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone from the gateway unit and transmits an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the portable telephone mail display means displays the received data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone on the screen thereof, the key input means accepts pressing the keypad on the portable telephone, and the operation description means converts the information provided by pressing the keypad into the corresponding operation, for example, converts the information into preparation of a reply document indicating yes to the received mail.
According to the second aspect of the invention, there is provided an easy message response system comprising a gateway unit having a connection interface to the Internet and an interface to a portable telephone network for sending electronic mail from the Internet to a portable telephone in the portable telephone network and returning a reply from the portable telephone to a party transmitting the electronic mail, wherein the gateway unit comprises Internet communication means for transmitting and receiving electronic mail to and from a personal computer in the Internet, portable telephone filter means for adding a reply menu for enabling an easy reply of yes or no to be made on the portable telephone to the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone, received from the Internet communication means, reply mail preparation means for preparing reply mail to the personal computer in the Internet in response to a reply menu selection result from the portable telephone, and portable telephone data communication means for transmitting the electronic mail to which the reply menu is added to the portable telephone and receiving reply menu selection result from the portable telephone, and wherein the portable telephone comprises gateway communication means for receiving the output data containing the reply menu from the portable telephone filter means in the gateway unit and informing the gateway unit of the operation corresponding to the reply selection menu, portable telephone mail display means for displaying the output data received from the portable telephone filter means on a screen of the portable telephone, key input means for accepting the key input on the portable telephone, and operation description means for converting the key input through the key input means into operation description corresponding to information displayed by the portable telephone mail display means.
In the invention, the Internet communication means transmits and receives electronic mail to and from a personal computer on the Internet, the portable telephone filter means converts the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone, such as Internet standard HTML format or WML format defined in WAP for the portable telephone having a browsing function and adds a reply menu for enabling an easy reply of yes or no to be made on the portable telephone to the electronic mail received at the portable telephone, the reply mail preparation means prepares a simple reply document indicating yes, no, etc., to the personal computer in the Internet in response to reply menu selection made on the portable telephone, the portable telephone data communication means transmits data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone to which a reply menu is added and receives an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the gateway communication means receives the data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone to which the reply menu is added from the gateway unit and transmits an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the portable telephone mail display means displays the received data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone to which the reply menu is added on the screen of the portable telephone, the key input means accepts pressing the keypad on the portable telephone, and the operation description means converts the information provided by pressing the keypad into the operation described on reply selection menu, for example, converts the information into preparation of a reply document indicating yes to the received mail.
According to the third aspect of the invention, there is provided an easy message response system comprising a gateway unit having a connection interface to the Internet and an interface to a portable telephone network for sending electronic mail from the Internet to a portable telephone in the portable telephone network and returning a reply from the portable telephone to a party transmitting the electronic mail, wherein the gateway unit comprises Internet communication means for transmitting and receiving electronic mail to and from a personal computer in the Internet, portable telephone filter means for converting the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone, received from the Internet communication means into a data format in which a yes/no screen for enabling an easy reply to be made on the portable telephone to the electronic mail can be displayed together with corresponding function keys, reply mail preparation means for preparing reply mail to the personal computer in the Internet in response to a function key selection result from the portable telephone, and portable telephone data communication means for transmitting the electronic mail with the yes/no screen displayed at the position of the function keys and receiving function key selection result from the portable telephone, and wherein the portable telephone comprises gateway communication means for receiving the output data containing the yes/no screen display at the position of the function keys from the portable telephone filter means in the gateway unit and informing the gateway unit of the operation corresponding to the function key selection result, portable telephone mail display means for displaying the output data received from the portable telephone filter means on a screen of the portable telephone, key input means for accepting the key input on the portable telephone, and operation description means for converting the key input through the key input means into operation description corresponding to information displayed by the portable telephone mail display means.
In the invention, the Internet communication means transmits and receives electronic mail to and from a personal computer on the Internet, the portable telephone filter means converts the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone, such as Internet standard HTML format or WML format defined in WAP for the portable telephone having abrowsing function, and makes a description for making it possible to display a screen for enabling an easy reply of yes or no to be made to the electronic mail received on the portable telephone together with function keys, the reply mail preparation means prepares a simple reply document indicating yes, no, etc., to the personal computer in the Internet in response to function key selection corresponding to the yes/no screen from the portable telephone, the portable telephone data communication means transmits data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone for displaying the yes/no screen at the function key position and receives an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the gateway communication means receives the data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone for displaying the yes/no screen at the function key position from the gateway unit and transmits an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to the function key selection result corresponding to the yes/no screen by pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the portable telephone mail display means displays the received data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone for displaying the yes/no screen at the function key position on the screen of the portable screen, the key input means accepts pressing the keypad on the portable telephone, and the operation description means converts the key input into the operation displayed on the screen corresponding to the pressed function key, such as preparation of a reply document indicating yes to the received mail.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided an easy message response system comprising a gateway unit having a connection interface to the Internet, an interface to a portable telephone network, and an interface to a voice mail server for transmitting electronic mail from the Internet to a portable telephone in the portable telephone network and recording a reply message in the voice mail server from the portable telephone, wherein the gateway unit receives a voice file containing the recorded reply message from the voice mail server and returns reply mail to which the voice file is attached to a party transmitting the electronic mail, wherein the gateway unit comprises Internet communication means for transmitting and receiving electronic mail to and from a personal computer in the Internet, portable telephone filter means for converting the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone, received from the Internet communication means into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone and voice reply operation to b e performed on the portable telephone for the voice mail server, voice mail server communication means for receiving the voice file containing the recorded response message from the portable telephone and corresponding electronic mail information, reply mail preparation means for preparing reply mail to which the voice file is attached to the personal computer in the Internet based on the voice file and the corresponding electronic mail information received from the voice mail server communication means, and portable telephone data communication means for transmitting the output result of the portable telephone filter means to the portable telephone, wherein the portable telephone comprises gateway communication means for receiving the output data from the portable telephone filter means in the gateway unit, portable telephone mail display means for displaying the output data received from the portable telephone filter means on a screen of the portable telephone, key input means for accepting the key input on the portable telephone, and voice mail communication means for adding the corresponding electronic mail information, originating a call, and transmitting reply message as voice to the voice mail server if the key input on the key input means is a voice mail response, and wherein the voice mail server comprises portable telephone communication means for accepting the call originated from the portable telephone, transmitting a voice guidance for prompting a user of the portable telephone to record a voice reply message, and temporarily storing a voice reply message from the portable telephone as a voice file with the corresponding electronic mail information added at the call originating time as an index, and gateway communication means for transmitting the voice file to the gateway unit together with the corresponding electronic mail information.
In the invention, the Internet communication means transmits and receives electronic mail to and from a personal computer on the Internet, the portable telephone filter means converts the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone, such as Internet standard HTML format or WML format defined in WAP for the portable telephone having a browsing function, and voice reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone for the voice mail server, the voice mail server communication means receives the voice file containing the recorded response message from the portable telephone and the corresponding electronic mail information, the reply mail preparation means retrieves the reply destination from the corresponding electronic mail information and prepares reply mail to which the voice file from the voice mail server is added, the portable telephone data communication means transmits data converted into the format in which display can be produced on the portable telephone and voice reply operation can be performed for the voice mail server, the gateway communication means receives the data converted into the format in which display can be produced on the portable telephone and voice reply operation can be performed for the voice mail server from the gateway unit, the portable telephone mail display means displays the received data converted into the format in which display can be produced on the portable telephone and voice reply operation can be performed for the voice mail server on the screen of the portable telephone, the key input means accepts pressing the keypad on the portable telephone, the voice mail communication means adds the corresponding received electronic mail information, originates a call, and transmits reply message as voice to the voice mail server if a voice mail response is selected as a result of pressing the keypad, the portable telephone communication means accepts the call originated from the portable telephone, transmits a voice guidance for prompting a user of the portable telephone to record a voice reply message, and temporarily stores a voice file with the corresponding electronic mail information added at the call originating time as an index, and the gateway communication means for transmits the voice file to the gateway unit together with the corresponding electronic mail information.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided an easy message response system comprising a gateway unit having a connection interface to the Internet and an interface to a portable telephone network for transmitting electronic mail from the Internet to a portable telephone in the portable telephone network and returning a voice reply message recorded on the portable telephone as an attached file to a party transmitting the electronic mail, wherein the gateway unit comprises Internet communication means for transmitting and receiving electronic mail to and from a personal computer in the Internet, portable telephone filter means for converting the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone, received from the Internet communication means into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone and voice reply operation to the electronic mail to be performed on the portable telephone, reply mail preparation means for preparing reply mail to which the voice file containing the recorded reply message received from the portable telephone is attached, and portable telephone data communication means for transmitting the output result of the portable telephone filter means to the portable telephone, and wherein the portable telephone comprises gateway communication means for receiving the output data from the portable telephone filter means in the gateway unit and transmitting the voice file containing the recorded reply message to the gateway unit, portable telephone mail display means for displaying the output data received from the portable telephone filter means on a screen of the portable telephone, key input means for accepting the key input on the portable telephone, and voice recording means for inputting and recording a reply message as voice if the key input on the key input means is a voice mail response.
In the invention, the Internet communication means transmits and receives electronic mail to and from a personal computer on the Internet, the portable telephone filter means converts the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone, such as Internet standard HTML format or WML format defined in WAP for the portable telephone having a browsing function, and voice reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone, the reply mail preparation means prepares reply mail to which the voice file containing the recorded reply message received from the portable telephone is attached, the portable telephone data communication means transmits data converted into the format in which display and voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone, the gateway communication means receives the data converted into the format in which display and voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone from the gateway unit and transmits the voice file containing the recorded reply message to the gateway unit, the portable telephone mail display means displays the received data converted into the format in which display and voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone on the screen thereof, the key input means accepts pressing the keypad on the portable telephone, and the voice recording means inputs and records a reply message as voice if a voice mail response is selected as a result of pressing the keypad.
According to the sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided an easy message response system comprising a gateway unit having a connection interface to the Internet, an interface to a portable telephone network, and an interface to a voice mail server for transmitting electronic mail from the Internet to a portable telephone in the portable telephone network and recording a reply message in the voice mail server from the portable telephone, wherein the gateway unit receives a voice file containing the recorded reply message from the voice mail server and returns the voice file as an attached file to a party transmitting the electronic mail or preparing a reply message in response to the operation from the portable telephone and returning the reply message to the party transmitting the electronic mail, wherein the gateway unit comprises Internet communication means for transmitting and receiving electronic mail to and from a personal computer in the Internet, portable telephone filter means for converting the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone, received from the Internet communication means into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone and reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone or a format for enabling voice reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone for the voice mail server, voice mail server communication means for receiving the voice file containing the recorded response message from the portable telephone and corresponding electronic mail information, reply mail preparation means for preparing reply mail to which the voice file is attached to the personal computer in the Internet based on the voice file and the corresponding electronic mail information received from the voice mail server communication means or preparing reply mail to the personal computer in the Internet in response to a reply made through key input on the portable telephone, and portable telephone data communication means for transmitting the output result of the portable telephone filter means to the portable telephone, wherein the portable telephone comprises gateway communication means for receiving the output data from the portable telephone filter means in the gateway unit and informing the gateway unit of the operation corresponding to the key input on the portable telephone, portable telephone mail display means for displaying the output data received from the portable telephone filter means on a screen of the portable telephone, key input means for accepting the key input on the portable telephone, operation description means for converting the key input through the key input means into the operation corresponding to information displayed by the portable telephone mail display means, and voice mail communication means for adding the corresponding electronic mail information, originating a call, and transmitting reply message as voice to the voice mail server if the operation description means indicates a voicemail response, and wherein the voice mail server comprises portable telephone communication means for accepting the call originated from the portable telephone, transmitting a voice guidance for prompting a user of the portable telephone to record a voice reply message, and temporarily storing a voice reply message from the portable telephone as a voice file with the corresponding electronic mail information added at the call originating time as an index, and gateway communication means for transmitting the voice file to the gateway unit together with the corresponding electronic mail information.
In the invention, the Internet communication means transmits and receives electronic mail to and from a personal computer on the Internet, the portable telephone filter means converts the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone, such as Internet standard HTML format or WML format defined in WAP for the portable telephone having a browsing function, and reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone or a format for enabling voice reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone for the voice mail server, the voice mail server communication means receives the voice file containing the recorded response message from the portable telephone and the corresponding electronic mail information, the reply mail preparation means prepares simple reply mail indicating yes, no, etc., to the personal computer in the Internet in response to pressing a keypad on the portable telephone or retrieves the reply destination from the corresponding electronic mail information and prepares reply mail to which the voice file from the voice mail server is added, the portable telephone data communication means transmits data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone or voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone for the voice mail server and receives an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the gateway communication means receives the data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone or voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone for the voice mail server from the gateway unit and transmits the operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the portable telephone mail display means displays the received data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone and the received data converted into the format in which voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone for the voice mail server on the screen of the portable telephone, the key input means accepts pressing the keypad on the portable telephone, the operation description means converts the information provided by pressing the keypad into the corresponding operation, for example, preparation of a reply document indicating yes to the received mail, the voice mail communication means adds the corresponding received electronic mail information, originates a call, and transmits reply message as voice to the voice mail server if a voice mail response is selected as a result of pressing the keypad, the portable telephone communication means accepts the call originated from the portable telephone, transmits a voice guidance for prompting a user of the portable telephone to record a voice reply message, and temporarily stores a voice file with the corresponding electronic mail information added at the call originating time as an index, and the gateway communication means for transmits the voice file to the gateway unit together with the corresponding electronic mail information.
According to the seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided an easy message response system comprising a gateway unit having a connection interface to the Internet and an interface to a portable telephone network for transmitting electronic mail from the Internet to a portable telephone in the portable telephone network and returning a voice reply message recorded on the portable telephone as an attached file to a party transmitting the electronic mail or preparing a reply message in response to the operation from the portable telephone and returning the reply message to the party transmitting the electronic mail, wherein the gateway unit comprises Internet communication means for transmitting and receiving electronic mail to and from a personal computer in the Internet, portable telephone filter means for converting the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone, received from the Internet communication means into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone and reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone or a format for enabling voice reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone, reply mail preparation means for preparing reply mail to which the voice file containing the recorded reply message received from the portable telephone is attached or preparing reply mail to the personal computer in the Internet in response to a reply made through key input on the portable telephone, and portable telephone data communication means for transmitting the output result of the portable telephone filter means to the portable telephone, and wherein the portable telephone comprises gateway communication means for receiving the output data from the portable telephone filter means in the gateway unit and transmitting the voice file containing the recorded reply message to the gateway unit or informing the gateway unit of the operation corresponding to the key input on the portable telephone, portable telephone mail display means for displaying the output data received from the portable telephone filter means on a screen of the portable telephone, key input means for accepting the key input on the portable telephone, operation description means for converting the key input through the key input means into the corresponding operation based on information displayed by the portable telephone mail display means, and voice recording means for inputting and recording reply message as voice if the operation description means indicates a voice mail response.
In the invention, the Internet communication means transmits and receives electronic mail to and from a personal computer on the Internet, the portable telephone filter means converts the electronic mail addressed to the portable telephone into a format for enabling the electronic mail to be displayed on the portable telephone, such as Internet standard HTML format or WML format defined in WAP for the portable telephone having a browsing function, and reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone or a format for enabling voice reply operation to be performed on the portable telephone, the reply mail preparation means prepares a simple reply document indicating yes, no, etc., to the personal computer in the Internet in response to pressing a keypad on the portable telephone or reply mail to which a voice file containing a recorded reply message received from the portable telephone is attached, the portable telephone data communication means transmits data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone or voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone and receives an operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail, the gateway communication means receives the data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone or voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone from the gateway unit and transmits the operation instruction for preparing a document containing yes or no in response to pressing the keypad on the portable telephone as a reply to the received mail and the voice file containing the recorded replay message, the portable telephone mail display means displays the received data converted into the format in which display and reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone and the received data converted into the format in which voice reply operation can be performed on the portable telephone on the screen of the portable telephone, the key input means accepts pressing the keypad on the portable telephone, the operation description means converts the information provided by pressing the keypad into the corresponding operation, for example, preparation of a reply document indicating yes to the received mail, and the voice recording means inputs and records a reply message as voice if a voice mail response is selected as a result of pressing the keypad.